Oh also, here is a fantastic clip of Alan Davies voicing over an image of a beluga whale on QI:

On to the pattern... we haven't got a name for him yet but here it is! (I took the photos with a sepia filter because the white balance on my phone was not behaving and kept turning yellow.)

He has a pleasantly tubby profile, a lovely little dorsal ridge, and a very silly smile.

So fat... so pleasing...

The physical features turned out in a bit of a spiral because of the way crochet works... but it doesn't look too bad so I'm leaving it.

You will need:

White DK yarn of your choice - I recommend cotton because I like the texture.*Crochet hook 3.5mm - I used Japanese size 5/0 because it's my favourite double sided hook, the closest size is 3.5mm)

Black or navy embroidery floss (single strand) - sewing thread will do if you double it up.

1 stitch marker

Tapestry needle and sewing needle for finishing

Polyester fibre

Completed size: 15cm

Difficulty: Easy to Intermediate

*The blue coloured whale in the photo (right) was made from cotton and the white one was from some unbranded acrylic because I didn't have white cotton (boo). You can see that they were slightly different sizes when complete and I think it is partly because of the different material. It's okay, they are still pals.

He is worked circularly in one piece because nobody likes joining a hundred fiddly bits. As a result, he has a bit of a twist to his body (below right) which gives him a little bit of attitude.

Abbrieviations (US):

sl st - slip stitch

sc - single crochet

hdc - half double crochet

dc - double crochet

tr - triple crochet

sc2tog - single crochet 2 st together (decrease)

2sc into next st - 2 sc in the next stitch (increase)

sc 2x - number of times you do a single crochet (in this case, 2)

( ) 3x - bracket indicates a repeat section and how many times to repeat

The number at the end of each instruction indicates the number of stitches in each row.

sc, then follow directions for left fin, then continue as follows: Sc 16x. Follow directions for right fin. sc 7x. - 26 st

Left fin:

sc into front loop of next st, turn

(You leave the back loop empty since you will work this on the next row.)

ch 1, 3 sc into next st (as normal), turn

ch 1, 2sc into next st, sc 2x, turn

ch 1, sc 2, sc2tog, turn

ch 1, sc, sc2tog, turn,

ch 1, sc2tog turn,

ch 1, sl st 5x along upper edge of fin.

sl st into the front loop of the sc that you started the fin on (it’s the same front loop you did at the start!). It will be helpful to mark the back loop with a marker or safety pin.

Right fin:

sc into front loop of next st, turn

ch 1, 3sc into next st, turn

ch 1, sc 2x, 2sc into next st, turn

ch 1, sc2tog, sc 2x, turn

ch 1, sc2tog, sc, turn

ch 1, sc 2tog, turn

ch 1, sl st 5x along upper edge of fin to match the sl st on left fin (if you are feeling adventurous, try to make the sl st row face the same side as the left…which means the reverse side than is ‘natural’ for the direction you’re crocheting in. but if you aren’t up to this you can just sl st as is comfortable for you). If you make the sl st on the reverse, you will need to go BEHIND the fin for the next step, which is to sl st loosely using an elongated sl st into the front loop of the sc you started the fin with. If the fin twists and you don’t want that… your sl st is not long enough. You can include this stitch when you mark the back loop and work them as 1 st in the next row. If that still doesn’t work (it didn’t really work for me, but I was lazy) you can try sewing the fin in place when you’re finishing your whale. If you didn't make the sl st row to match, just sl st into the front loop of the st as you did for left fin.

Next row:

sc all - don’t forget to work into the back loops of those stitches that you worked the fins into. - 26 st

sc 2x, then flatten the end of the tail so you can see 2 rows of 3 stitches. You will need to work the edges together to close the body later - treat this as 3 stitches.

*ch 5, sc into 2nd ch from hook, hdc, dc, tr*, work next 3 st into both edges of the tail end: dc, “sc”, {sl st}. (Take note of the stitches, you may want to mark them with different coloured markers.)

Repeat directions between * *, followed by a dc into the sl st that was marked by curly brackets { }, and then sl st into the sc marked by “ ”.

Tie off and weave in yarn end. If you have gaps in the tail, you can use the yarn end to sew these up.

Embroider a nice face and blowhole as shown, and you’re done!

Embroidery and finishing tips: If you used sewing thread like I did, chain stitch the mouth and do french knots for the eyes. If you're using embroidery floss, you can probably get away with back stitch for the mouth, but chain stitch is much neater in my opinion. I suggest to do the mouth first and eyes second, it makes it a bit easier to make the face symmetrical and position the eyes.

You can pinch the dorsal ridge to give it a bit more definition. The tail might curl a bit, if you want you can use a larger hook or block it. I was lazy and just tugged it with my fingers.

Friday, February 8, 2013

I was thinking it would be nice to come up with another pattern. But I don't really know what to make next. Some kind of interesting animal? A quirky object? An abstract concept?

If you have stumbled across this blog looking for Reuben the unicorn, maybe you could take the time to share some wild idea for crochet (or knitting, but I find I work better making 3D projects with crochet), and I will see if there is anything that I could make!

Thanks for stopping by (:

Please enjoy these pictures of a livid cow and his sweet-eyed friend that I took when I visited Surrey Docks Farm in London:

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Just a small post for now... little crafty update (: Unfortunately this project is full of unknowns!

Finished this hat as a very very late birthday present for my friend Natallya. She requested "something pretty for her hair" or maybe a hat, so I made a hat...

I don't know what this yarn is made of. My aunt bought it for me at a sale, and the seller claimed it was cashmere. There was no ball band but it came in a plastic bag of 10. I'm not so sure about it being cashmere because it was too cheap, but it's still nice and soft! I did a burn test and I think it's a natural/ synthetic blend - the annoying thing about burn tests is that they are not very reliable.

This hat is part knit and part crochet... the knitted body gives elasticity, fit and drape, while the crocheted brim is firmer and sturdier. I haven't got a pattern for this as I made it up as I went along and was in a bit of a hurry to finish it - I don't even remember the size of the needle I used. Oh well.

Hopefully this hat is not too warm to be worn in the Singapore climate!

Sorry the work-in-progress shots are not well-taken and the lighting is a bit rubbish...

I'd tell you that Reuben is over the moon, but because I gave the original away, I can't show you his happy pose... have a happy Piggy, instead (:

Oops! Piggy was unhappy with this 'naked' picture of him... so here is a new picture of him in all his nice clothes :D And with his best friend, Cow. Piggy is/ was an ongoing project. I made him before I left for uni, and every summer I'd add to his wardrobe. The first time, it was the trousers. Then I got obsessed with ties (he has a small silk necktie - hell to iron). And finally his little vest. The Rambo-ribbon on his head was intended as a bow tie, but since he already had a necktie he decided it would look good elsewhere... Cow is a hot water bottle cover that I received for Christmas.

Long time no post, but been working on a few things (: Due to the recent crochet binge, a friend at church noticed my lace work and asked for a lace collar. At first, I'd made a straight strip of lace, emulating the style from my Japanese book. I adapted the pattern a little to widen it.

She liked it, but she decided that she'd use it as edging for a blouse, as she preferred a round collar. So I lent her some books, and she asked for any edging from "Knitted Lace of Estonia".

I chose this one, because it looks quite smart and not too fussy, plus the pattern was quite easy to do:

About Me

A pedantic knitter, crocheter and whatever you call people who embroider and sew things.
I'm a postgraduate student in clinical psychology. To keep myself sane, I feed my craft addiction - but the work doesn't leave a whole lot of time to update this blog or reply to messages. However, I hope you enjoy what little I share here. (: